I Confessed to the Three Beautiful Sisters at School and Got Rejected, but After I Became their Stepsister, They Started Doting On Me - Chapter 73

“U-Um, everyone… can we all just calm down for a second?”

Right now, I was kneeling in formal seiza on the floor—completely surrounded by the three sisters.

Wh-why am I the only one in this humiliating position…?

“I don’t recall giving you permission to speak. Just answer the questions.”

“…Yes, ma’am.”

Chiya-san’s tone was serious. Like, really serious. So I zipped my lips.

“Why did you come home this late?”

…

My opponent was Tsukimori Chiya—the student council president and a walking example of rule-following perfection.

Standing in front of someone like her…

“It was after school, so I went out and had fun! Guess that makes me a social butterfly now, right? Ehehe.”

…Yeah. No way I can say that.

I’d definitely get scolded.

“Can’t answer?”

“…I was… um, just taking a little detour.”

I couldn’t lie, so I wrapped the truth up in some soft wording.

“So you’re saying my dinner doesn’t matter to you anymore… sniff sniff.”

Hiyori-san kept dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief, wiping at tears that weren’t there—and had never been, honestly—but this was clearly not the moment to point that out.

“Akari! Can’t you see Hiyori-nee is crying!? Don’t you feel anything at all!?”

Karin-san raised her voice at me, clearly emotional…

Well, I was the one at fault here. I had no room to talk back.

“I-I’m sorry… I should’ve contacted you in advance. I always look forward to Hiyori-san’s cooking, but today was… kind of a surprise invitation, and I just didn’t think it through…”

It was my first time being invited like that. I got carried away. My head was completely elsewhere.

“So? Where were you and what were you doing?”

The three of them loomed over me, all eyes locked on me.

“W-Well, um…”

Was it okay to just tell the truth…?

Somehow, it felt like I’d just be pouring fuel on the fire…

“Sniff sniff…”

Suddenly, Hiyori-san knelt down and leaned in—bringing her nose right up to the side of my neck.

“H-Hiyori-san!?”

At this distance, I could catch the sweet, floral scent she always had…

“You smell… like someone else.”

“Wha—”

But she smelled me too!?

D-Did I stink…?

“You smell like another female.”

—Sniff.

Her face went completely blank. Even the sparkle in her eyes disappeared.

A-another… female? Seriously…!?

“Wait, for real, Hiyori-nee!?”

Karin—hold on, shouldn’t you be more concerned about the fact your sister stopped fake-crying the second she sniffed me!?

“Yup. Smells like some random woman.”

That’s… harsh…

And your sense of smell is scary sharp, okay!?

“I wanna smell too!”

“Wha!?”

Without waiting for a response, Karin-san leaned in too.

Ah—she smells citrusy, like oranges or lemons…

Wait, no, focus!

“Sniff sniff… hmm…”

“Um, Karin-san?”

“Hmm… I dunno… sniff sniff…”

She just kept sniffing endlessly, like she was trying to figure it out through sheer will.

I mean… you shouldn’t be able to tell anyway, so maybe stop?

“Karin. You do know what your actual goal is here, right?”

“O-Of course! Obviously!!”

With a stern look from Chiya-san, Karin finally backed off.

…What was that about?

“Well then, Hiyori. Whose scent, was it?”

There’s no way she’d guess that, right—?

“Saezuki-san’s, of course.”

—SHE DID!?

That’s terrifying!!

Sweat started pouring down my back.

“Tch, I was going to bluff… but judging by that reaction, I hit the mark, didn’t I?”

It was a bluff!?

I’m too ridiculously honest for my own good!!

“W-Wait… it was a bluff…?”
Karin-san didn’t seem to realize that part.

“There’s no way I could actually tell from smell, right? Karin-chan, what were you even trying to do this whole time?”

“Wha—um… d-don’t ask me that!”

And now there’s collateral damage.

Still, this is no time for worrying about that.

“So? Why did you secretly meet with Saezuki Riko without telling us?”

The air around Chiya-san was suffocating.

Depending on how I answer… what kind of punishment awaits me?

Her eyes haven’t smiled once since this started.

“Saezuki-san invited me out, so I just… accepted and went with her.”

“Oh? And where exactly did you go, to be out this late?”

“…Her house.”

—CRACK.

I swear I just heard the atmosphere fracture.

“Disgraceful!!”

Suddenly, Hiyori-san shouted.

“She’s been tainted! Our dear Akari-chan has been defiled!!”

She covered her face with her sleeve and dramatically collapsed to the floor.

…Am I the only one who feels like she’s really overacting?

“In that case…”

Still lying on the floor, she suddenly sprang up and lunged at me.

“Eek!?”

Before I could react, Hiyori-san had pinned me down.

Now she was on top of me, looking down—her expression visible only to me.

“Ufufu…”

She was smirking.

So it was all an act!

“Looks like I’ll have to purify you myself, won’t I~?”

And now her eyes were closed and her lips were getting closer—wait, WHAT!?

“WHAT are you doing, Hiyori-nee!?”

“Oh dear.”

Karin-san stepped in, interrupting whatever that was.

Thank goodness.

“What do you mean ‘tainted’!? Akari’s totally fine!”

“…Karin-chan, take a good look at her.”

“Huh?”

Karin-san turned to stare at me—like, really stared.

And I might be imagining it, but her cheeks looked like they were turning pink…

“So? What do you see, Karin-chan?”

“…She’s… kinda cute.”

…What is even happening right now?

I feel like I’m going to die of embarrassment.

“That’s because she’s climbed one step further into womanhood~”

“Wait—Akari, you climbed it!?”

“I did NOT climb anything!!”

What is this conversation!? This is madness!!

“…Enough. Hiyori. Karin. Be serious.”

The room instantly fell silent.

Chiya-san’s words had the power to change the air.

“Now, let me ask again.”

“W-What exactly… do you mean…?”

Her stare was sharper than ever. I couldn’t help shrinking under it.

“Did you engage in inappropriate relations?”

“Of course not!!”

Wait—that’s what she’s worried about!?

“…I find that hard to believe.”

“Why!?”

“You came home this late. It’d be stranger not to be suspicious.”

W-Wait… is that true?
Is that how this looks?

Am I the weird one here…?

“We didn’t do anything like that! We just drank juice, ate snacks, and talked!”

“Can you prove it?”

The proof of innocence—the hardest proof of all!

It’s nearly impossible to prove something didn’t happen!

In times like this…

I have no choice but to speak from the heart!

“Chiya-san, please—look at me!”

“…What do you mean?”

“Look into my eyes. You’ll see it. The truth—that I am completely pure and innocent!”

I can say this without a single shred of doubt.

There’s no lie in my heart. No cloud in my eyes.

My gaze locked with hers—firm and unwavering—as I silently pleaded my case.

…

“…Stop it.”

Chiya-san turned away with a sharp little hmph.

“Eh? Chiya-san!?”

“Don’t look at me with eyes like that… You’re going to tempt me.”

I’M NOT!!

“See, Karin-chan? That’s proof she’s grown up—she’s so alluring even Chiya-chan can’t resist her anymore.”

“Akari’s become… a femme fatale!?”

And so…

Until my name was fully cleared…

I remained in seize for quite a while longer.

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